According to Svenska Dagbladet's rules for the Bragdguldet, an athlete cannot win more than twice.
Therefore, Sarah Sjöström was not a candidate despite her double Olympic gold in Paris last summer.
Now, Armand Duplantis belongs to the exclusive group of five athletes who have won Sweden's most prestigious sports award twice.
He could count up three of the five:
Ingemar (Stenmark), Sarah Sjöström, and Björn Borg, says Duplantis and learns from Svenska Dagbladet's correspondent in Baton Rouge that the remaining one is Anja Pärson.
A good company, it's pretty sick actually. It's hard to understand, so it needs to sink in a bit.
"Outstanding achievement"
The motivation for Duplantis reads: "For historic Olympic gold and world record. An enchanting high jumper and outstanding achievement".
The Swedish-American put on a great show in the Olympic final in front of 80,000 spectators at the Stade de France when he defended his Olympic gold from Tokyo 2021.
When the gold was secured, almost every spectator stayed to see "Mondo" break his own world record.
Duplantis received the Bragdguldet in 2020 for his world records during a season where the pandemic cancelled major championships.
It's pretty much the same feeling. I had a very good year in 2020. This year, I did kind of everything, he says about the comparison.
I was in the same apartment then, at 6 am, I have a bit of déjà vu, actually, he adds.
Praised competitors
The early morning in the USA made it difficult for a sleepy Duplantis to gather his thoughts on how the celebration would look later in the day. With a bottle of champagne in hand, he says:
I don't know, drink up... Start waking up, enjoy the rest of the day, celebrate with my family later today.
The world's undisputed best pole vaulter had competition from beach volleyball's Olympic gold pair David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig and double silver medalist Truls Möregårdh, who revived a dormant ping-pong interest to hysteria.
It was wonderful with beach volleyball, and it inspired me a lot during the Olympic Games, and Truls too. I loved following him during the Olympic Games, it was a wonderful underdog story, says Armand Duplantis.
Besides his abundance of Olympic and World Championship medals, Duplantis has also been named the world's best track and field athlete by the international track and field federation in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The last two years, the prize has been for technical events.
Facts: The 10 latest Bragdguldet winners
2015 – Sarah Sjöström, swimming
2016 – Henrik Stenson, golf
2017 – Sarah Sjöström, swimming
2018 – Hanna Öberg, biathlon
2019 – Tove Alexandersson, orienteering
2020 – Armand Duplantis, track and field
2021 – The Swedish show jumping team, equestrian sports (Malin Baryard Johnsson, Henrik von Eckermann, and Peder Fredricson)
2022 – Nils van der Poel, speed skating
2023 – Daniel Ståhl, track and field
2024 – Armand Duplantis, track and field
Note: An athlete can receive the Bragdguldet a maximum of two times during their career.
